More Than Half of U.S. Public Sector Employees Engaged at Work

Nashville, Tenn. — Sept. 11

ADP, a provider of human capital management services, and the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) announced the findings of a national survey measuring current levels of employee engagement among public sector employees at the state and local level.

The survey, which polled more than 2,200 public sector employees in the U.S., found that 58 percent of public sector employees are fully engaged in their jobs. Moreover, 38 percent of all respondents said they were either very, or somewhat likely, to leave their job if working conditions don’t improve.

A higher number of young workers — 47 percent of those 34 years of age and younger — said they were either very, or somewhat likely, to leave their job if working conditions do not improve.

The study, commissioned by ADP and IPMA-HR, an organization that represents the interests of HR professionals at the federal, state and local levels of government, as well as public education organizations, was conducted to understand the vital components to engagement.

“Fully engaged” public sector employees are:

• Twice as likely to stay in their current job.• 2.5 times more likely to feel they can “make a difference.”• 2.5 times more likely to recommend their workplace to others.• Three times as likely to report being “very satisfied” in their jobs.

This study was conducted by the Governing Institute among a sample of 2,259 randomly selected participants across state and local governments. The study was conducted online using the proprietary Governing Exchange platform and the sample is weighted and balanced by age, region, employee type, employee level and type of government.